


i've been a fool

by mjnyards



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Arguing because well it's keith and lance, Black paladin! keith, Lance goes to blue for advice, Late night talks, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pidge helps lance with how he feels, Red paladin! lance, Stargazing, The pidge and lance content we all deserve
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-03 19:56:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14576481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mjnyards/pseuds/mjnyards
Summary: “Something bothering you?” Pidge asked.More like someone, Lance thought. Instead he said, “How do you always know?”She sat opposite him and crossed her legs.Pidge shrugged. “You’re easy to read.”Of course he was. He hadn’t known her for all that long, then again it had to be obvious. Maybe the words had been etched across his forehead and he’d yet to notice. That wouldn’t surprise him. He’d achieved a complete 180, from wise cracking triumphantly to locked up in his room or here with Blue. Maybe Pidge wasn’t the only one who noticed.“To answer your question, I’m talking to Blue,” Lance deflected.“About Keith?”





	i've been a fool

**Author's Note:**

> A short one shot to get me back on my klance bullshit, hope you enjoy :)  
> (Also this was meant for nico and no one else, but i'm posting it here too.)

Two weeks ago, hell two hours ago, if you’d have told Lance what he was about to do, he’d never believe you. Piloting a galactic jungle cat was one thing, but couldn’t compare to this. Legs outstretched in front of Blue had become comfortable even if she belonged to Allura now. She’d become a friend and though she couldn’t physically hear him, Blue listened when no one else did. It became easier to talk to her, especially about things he couldn’t share with the team. Not Pidge or even Hunk. It wasn’t that they wouldn’t understand, more so that he could never force the words out. They were there and had been for a while now, but never left his mind. They had taken up a permanent residence with no signs of vacating. 

 _I think I like Keith._  
Lance felt those words with every breath he took. When he walked, those words echoed out instead of footsteps. It began to unnerve him, the sight of Keith every day was bad enough, but never being able to escape him had become worse.

“What are you doing here, Lance?” Pidge’s voice startled him, caused him to jump. He tried to collect himself best as he could, but Pidge saw right through that.

“Something bothering you?” Pidge asked.

 _More like someone_ , Lance thought. Instead he said, “How do you always know?”

She sat opposite him and crossed her legs. 

Pidge shrugged. “You’re easy to read.”  
Of course he was. He hadn’t known her for all that long, then again it had to be obvious. Maybe the words had found themselves etched across his forehead and he’d yet to notice. That wouldn’t surprise him. He’d achieved a complete 180, from wise cracking triumphantly to locked up in his room or here with Blue. Maybe Pidge wasn’t the only one who noticed.

“To answer your question, I’m talking to Blue,” Lance deflected.

“About Keith?”

Quiznak. All that intelligence had to amount to something or maybe it went back to how painfully evident Lance’s feelings were. Keith probably knew even before Lance himself. No doubt he was the last to know. He seemed to be that way with everything, especially matters of his own heart. Important ones anyways. Allura had been different, she was magnetic and sparked something in him. She made him feel things. She made him feel nice, simple as that. But love wasn’t supposed to be nice. Not the type that mattered. Love with a capital ‘L.’ The heart wrenched, shattered earth, ripping petals off flowers kind of Love.

Keith didn’t make Lance feel nice at all. Maybe he should have, but he didn’t. At times, he made Lance want to tear his own hair out or shove him up against a wall and kiss him senseless. Maybe that could stop the chorus in Lance’s mind. It was worth a shot except he could never be that brave. He’d like to think he was, despite how far from the truth that remained.  
Even now, he couldn’t say the words out loud, so he settled for a nod. And Pidge seemed to understand perfectly. “It’s okay, you know. We’re on a floating castle circulating space, I doubt this will shock anyone or cause their heart to stop. We’ve dealt with much more surprising things.”

“You weren’t surprised?” Lance couldn’t help but ask.

Pidge shook her head. “There was always something different about how you treated him. Like something more than hatred or rivalry, but you didn’t want to admit it to yourself.”

Looking at Pidge right now was about the hardest thing for Lance to do. Instead, he focused on how the light hit Blue’s barrier, how it glinted off just like the sun hitting the ocean. What he wouldn’t do to show Keith the real thing.

“Do you think he knows?” Lance said through a long sigh.

“Maybe, maybe not. It is Keith. He’s probably more focused on getting that perfectly tousled mullet.”

He stifled a laugh, then couldn’t help himself. “Or making sure his fingerless gloves don’t cut off his circulation.”

Pidge nodded. “You have to tell him.”

“Tell who what?” Keith’s voice rang through the hangar. It hit Lance hard. Because of course. Of course the universe hated him this much. He couldn’t talk about Keith openly for two seconds without him showing up.

Then again, maybe the universe didn’t hate him. Maybe this was the push he needed. It could have been a sign, the one he was waiting for. Should he take it?  
Keith didn’t waited for an answer, instead sat next to him. His knee bumped against Lance’s on the way down. Why was he sitting so close? He’s never done this before. What was Keith up to?

“No one,” Lance said to his knees. Keith's presence was bad enough, Lance knew he wouldn’t be able to face him.

“You’re a terrible liar, Lance.”

“Takes one to know one.” That was a terrible comeback and Lance realized that as he said it. Pidge did too, from the way her eyes bore into the side of his head. If looks could kill... Normally Lance would think of a better cliché, but Keith distracted him. That had to do.  
Pidge reached out, then ran her hand over his. In that action, he heard the words she found herself unable to say with Keith here. _If this is what you want, go for it. You deserve to be happy with him or by yourself._

 _Thank you_ , Lance said back with a drum of his fingers against her wrist.

“Am I interrupting something?” Keith asked.

Pidge stood, then shook her head. “Not at all.” And with that, she was gone.

“That was weird, right? Even for Pidge?”

Lance couldn’t find the words, only shrugged instead.

“Are you alright?” The concern in his voice was nearly enough to tip Lance over the edge. The words were about to spill out any second now. Instead, he opted to say nothing, but that might have been a worse decision.

“I know we’re not friends, but if you want to talk, I’m here to listen,” Keith said quietly.

_Quiznak. Stop doing that. Say something demeaning._

“Idiot,” Lance mumbled.

“I’m trying to help you.”

“Not you. Me,” he replied.

Keith stretched out beside him. “You need to stop being so hard on yourself, you know.”

“Stop it.”

“I didn’t do anything?”

_Not consciously._

“You may not like me, but that doesn’t mean you have to be a dick about it when I want to help you,” Keith muttered.

“It’s the opposite,” Lance said before he could overthink it.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Keith asked, eyebrows raised. His eyes were sparkling and that did nothing to calm the storm in Lance’s chest or mind.

“Nothing. Forget I said anything.”

Keith sighed loudly, but didn’t say anything else. Lance didn't know what to make of that. Keith said they weren’t friends, that meant Lance couldn’t ask. Or rather, he could, but perhaps shouldn’t. Although, his prying nature got the better of him. “What is it?”

Finally, he looked to Keith and saw the tears clung to his chin, one harsh breath away from slipping off. Keith had his legs tucked to his chest, his arms wrapped around his ankles. For once he looked small, vulnerable. It unnerved Lance. He’d never seen Keith like this before, nearly torn open. Was it something he said? It couldn’t be, right?

Keith swallowed hard, said nothing.

“C’mon, even you can’t be ashamed of having emotions.”

Keith still didn’t say a word.

“Keith.”

He wiped away the tears furiously. “Just forget about it. It’s nothing.” There was an edge to his voice, almost sharper than his Galra blade. But the why of it was something Lance couldn’t figure out. What could have possibly broken Keith’s hotheaded emo exterior and hurt him? More specifically, who? Lance hadn’t thought it possible for that to happen.

“It’s not though.”

“It has to be,” Keith replied, barely above a whisper. Lance almost missed it over Blue’s subtle whirring.

“Why?”

“I said forget it,” Keith snapped. Of course, the real Keith couldn’t be gone for too long. He would make a reappearance, then push someone else away, like always. Lance knew how that felt, he just didn’t know what to say. He was never good at this, comforting someone else. He never knew what they wanted to hear, especially not Keith. What did you say to someone like him? Maybe he should make this easier and just give in.

“Fine, if that’s what you want.”

Keith’s head snapped up. “Obviously, it’s not what I want. Quiznak, how dense are you, Lance?”

What the hell? “Am I missing something?”

“Only everything.”

“Want to explain it to me?”

Keith scoffed. “What’s the point? If you don’t already know, there’s no use telling you now.”

“So why are you here then?”

He let out a long breath. “I don’t know. I couldn’t stop thinking and I-I didn’t know where else to go.”

“So you came to my lion?”

“Allura’s lion,” Keith corrected. And Keith was back, whatever that had been earlier was gone. Or so Lance thought. “But I didn’t come here for Blue. I came to see you. Pidge said you’re here a lot.”

“Why would you do that?”

Keith rolled his eyes, then ran a hand through his hair. “It is possible for you to become even more dense, who knew?”

“So you came here to insult me. That really couldn’t wait until the morning?” Lance asked.

Keith only rolled his eyes again.

“What?”

Keith sighed, then cut his eyes to the side. And Lance noticed another tear on Keith’s chin, then another after that until he lost count.

“Do you want to go watch the stars?”

“What?” Keith asked, wiping away tears again, but they fell faster than he could catch them.

“The stars. The sky’s always clear and they’re supposed to be beautiful, at least that’s what Pidge says. I’ve never gotten the chance to see them. Do you want to?”

Keith barely nodded, mostly just jutted out his chin, but Lance took it as a yes. He stood, then offered his hand and Keith took it. He figured Keith would let go once Lance pulled him up except Keith only tightened his grip, interlocked their fingers. Lance gave Keith’s hand a subtle squeeze before he led them out of the hangar.

-

Pidge had been right, the stars were beautiful. If only Lance had been able to focus on them rather than the beautiful boy beside him with teardrops caught in his eyelashes and stained cheeks. The boy he’d fallen hard for like an unexpected takeoff, Keith had floored him. And continued to do so each day. Torture didn’t begin to describe it.

“Which one’s your favourite?” Keith asked, shocking Lance from his thoughts.

He tapped the glass near the brightest one. “No contest.”

“Mine too.” And Keith almost smiled.

“Guess that’s our star now.” He’d meant it offhandedly and hoped Keith wouldn’t read too much into it, but a fire sparked behind Keith’s eyes.

“You can’t keep doing that.”

“I didn’t do anything,” he said. An echo of Keith’s words from earlier.

“Not even you can be this oblivious, Lance!”

“What are you—" Except Keith didn’t let Lance finish.

“I’ve had a thing for you since Garrison. Everyone else knows, even Coran. I don’t know how you missed it.”

“I have a thing for you now,” Lance whispered.

Keith’s eyes became wide and his jaw dropped. That had been what he wanted to hear, right?

Then Keith reached forward and placed a hand on Lance’s cheek. He looked to Lance with intention, trying to ask something with his eyes, but Lance couldn’t figure out what. Finally Keith had enough and asked, “Can I kiss you?”

“Are you going to talk about it or—" The rest of his sentence was cut off by Keith’s lips on his own.

Earlier, Lance had said Keith didn’t make him feel nice, but he was wrong. Nice was an understatement. Waiting for something was supposed to make it less sweet when it came to you, but that too was a lie. Because right now, Lance couldn’t imagine a better feeling in the world than kissing Keith Kogane.


End file.
